Politics certainly does make for strange bedfellows, and certainly none are more strange than conservative anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and liberal blogger Jane Hamsher, who have joined forces to call for the resignation of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. At issue is Emanuel’s service on the board of the government-sponsored mortgage company Freddie Mac from 2000 to 2001, service that Hamsher and Norquist allege may have given Emanuel some inside knowledge of alleged financial irregularities at the time.
In a joint letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the two activists noted:
“A 2003 report by Freddie Mac’s regulator indicated that Freddie Mac executives had informed the board of their intention to misstate the earnings to insure their own bonuses during the time Mr. Emanuel was a director. But the White House refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from the Chicago Tribune for those board minutes on the grounds that Freddie Mac was a ‘commercial’ entity, even though it was wholly owned by the government at the time the request was made.”
I can’t figure out why the White House would refuse to comply with a FOIA request for records from Freddie Mac, unless they were attempting to shield Rahm Emanuel because he had knowledge of financial impropriety at Freddie Mac. Something stinks about this situation, and I can only hope the White House does the right thing and releases the records requested through the Freedom of Information Act.
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